Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-07-01

limp away. He was now q fair mark.
#sa. Ano ther OF rang out, and the IN.
dian fell. while Elan taking his.
rifle from his shout der, quietly re-
marked: s Well there s one less to do
harm. ass
The Indians nov rode away3 Be-
syond rifle shot. II surely did not
seem cour ageous inthem to- abandon
the attack, and to fall back before an
inferior force when only two shots!
had been fired ]. But that was their
way, but we knew there would be an.
other attack. Il Il.
y s on see, the Indians were deter
mined, if possible, to have our horses
and. pack-mules, and their purpose
was to stampede the ANIMALS if they
could, and then to finish us at their
leisure. Their style Of warfare requlr-
ed that we should be gotten out Of the
way with the least possible loss to
themselves. They had us in a vice, as
it were. To have mounted and tried
to cut our way out, through a force Of
fully two hundred Indians, would
have been sheer folly. Il /. .sSs =s=#
In ashort time rascals dismount-
ed and q large number of them began
crawling towards US cautiously, occa-
sionally firing shot. The horses
and mules had quite recovered from
their fright, and We're grazing as we'll
as their. lariats and hobbies would
permit. Barlow would not allow any
ammunition to be wasted. By his
orders, Flanagan and another crack
shot occasionally put in an effective
bullet, but they fired only when a fair
mark was presented. The Indians at
tempted to set fire to the grass, but it
was too green and too scant to burn
we'll. 4. -" s
'The sun was now we'll up, and the
morning had become intensely hot.
Our canteens had nearly all been
emptled, and the question OF water
was already becoming so serious that
felt a sensation of relief when saw
the savages preparing for some move
ment. -
"Thus far, the conduct OF the In
dams had seemed positively coward
"; but now their purpose seemed to
be to oyerwhelm us with q rush, and
capture the stock with one swoop.
Down they came in a furious charge
CHOW, men, give it to them, but
don't waste your bullets exclaimed
Lieutenant Barlow. A rafting volley
followed. As the Indians came within
rife shot with blood-curdling~ yells,
ponies and riders fell.
Still the savages kept on until our fire
became too deadly for them, and then
they began to circle around us, still
yelling like demons, and continuing
their fire 49,
1t was a brave charge. but we had
too strong position for our assail-
ants. They gradually extended the
radius Of their circle until they were
beyon our range, but the witches had
succeeded in stampeding a dozen of
our animals.
"We had repuIsed the charge, but
at a heavy cost, for Lieutenant Bar
low was lying silent and mot1onless,
with a bullet in his heart, and three
private soldiers were also dead. Five
more were wounded, including Flana-
gan, whose right arm was broken by a.
shot.
1.-THE command devolved upon me,
and l had anything but an encourag-
ing task co undertake. The wounded
men were moaning piteously, and cry
ing. for water. The canteens were
drained for their benefit, and now the
absolute dearth Of water combined
with our other perils TO make our sit
uation desperate.
eve could, however, see the Indians
carrying off their dead and wounded,
and we knew that their. loss had been
a terrible heavy one. 4.
"Whether the savages had given
up all hopes OF stampeding the rest OF
our stock, Or revenge had gotten the
better OF their cupidity, lido not know,
but they now opened fire upon our
animals, and the poor beasts were
killed outright. The fire upon us was
not very severe, but it was too effect
i've, considering the small size of our
command. One Of the wounded men
were killed by a stray bullet, and an
other was wounded in the course OF
the afternoon. !. .,*s T.
1--WE now had only eleven men lit
for duty Ishall never forget the sum
set of that day The sunlooked like a.
great blood-red ball as it sank below
the straight line which seemed to be-
the western boundary of the plain,
and it's appearance seemed to be an
omen OF approaching fate. AS dusk
came, / was apprehensive OF another
attack, and you can hardly imagine
the painful anxiety with winch ]
watched the whole horizon. 4S Kilt.
occasionally there was a solitary
shot, but there were no signs OF any
movement, and, finally, darkness put
an end to our fears Of another assault.
ut was an awful night. Our rations
were eaten cold, and our thirst was
so great that it was almost impossi--
BILE to swallow our food. We were
suffering severely. AS to myself, though,
Ialmost forgot my misery IN my pity
for one OF the wounded men, a mere
boy in years, whose moaning and ap-
peals for water were heart-rending.
Morning came. With it came re-
newal OF the desultory firing of the
Indians, who seemed to- have DETER
mined to- wear us out with thirst,
fatigue, and anxiety, rather than
trust to another open assault. The
sun, rising red and fiery in a. cloudless
sky, gave promise Of: another day OF
heat and pitiless thirst. My tongue
was swollen, and seemed to fill ray
mouth, SO as to render articulation
almost impossible. - d a. =
'.The Indians keptup their fire, but
our firing ceased entirely, as / wished
to save our ammunition for use at
close quarters, in the event OF another
charge. Occasionally, some young
brave would sally forth and dash
round us in circle, and one young
4